A simple choice
by Metairie B
Summary: A new world can be either a gift or a burden. Maya Kojiki is suffering a difficult situation that seems to take an interesting turn as she suddenly wakes up in a new place knowing nothing but her own name. She's lost but soon stumbles upon a camp where she meets team Minato. The Namikaze has growing curiosities and leads her back to the village to hopefully gain some answers.
1. Preview

_I'll try to keep author's notes on a down low, but knowing me I'll have something to say each chapter. Gomenasai! ^,^; Anyway, this story will be a remake of a sort of another Naruverse fic I made on a separate account. . . *shivers* I can't believe it got as many favorites and follows as it did. Not that I'm unappreciative of those who had! I love you, guys! hehe~ It was just, in my opinion, poorly written. Hence, why I'm starting anew. I had lost interest in that, and had gotten busy with moving 'n such while writing it. The story line I have planned for this wont really be the same as in the last, but there will be a few familiar scenes that I liked and will hopefully be written better in this version. So, I guess the only relation this story will have with the last are a couple comical scenes, other than that, it's gonna be completely different.  
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_**IMPORTANT INFO (sorta) PLEASE READ SO YOU WONT BE CONFUSED: **__This will start before the birth of Naruto Uzumaki. After much thought, I have decided to take a certain path with this story that will result for Minato and Kushina to be alive. Rin and Obito will be a possibility, but in the way my mind is going now, I think I'll have it follow the same path as the Canon. Anyway, this will start in the early years (sorta) of team Minato, then work up into the Kakashi giaden, and possibly the Shippuden arch as well. Keep in mind that Maya (OC) will be transported into the Naruverse, though in her original world, "our world" in some sense, the series 'Naruto' would have not existed. It makes more sense to me that way; Maya having transported to another dimension rather than a manga/show. Now, since the names and honorifics in Naruto are indeed Japanese, I intend to have the natives remain speaking "Japanese". Maya, of course, speaks English. I want to write this out in the most realist way I can, including portraying characters correctly. So, since the majority of the dialog will be in "Japanese", whenever Maya speaks "English" the letters will be in bold.  
><em>**"I'm speaking English."**

"I'm speaking Japanese."

_Okay, I'll shut up for now. Oh! Euhe.. One more thing, I feel safe rating this M for mature due to possible future events such as language and gore. Romance and sexual scenes is also something I'm considering, if so then according to this it would be rated MA. Though, nothing too gruesome nor intimate will happen until later in the story.  
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_- M.B_

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><p><em><span><strong>.Preview.<strong>_

Name: Maya Kojiki.

Age/DOB**:** 11. January 17th.

Occupation: Junior high student.

General Location: New York; USA.

It is said that patients in a comatose state are able to hear and sometimes even feel things around them despite being in a deep slumber; an out-of-body state is another sense. But, what they don't tell you is that it is incredibly boring. For three weeks, four days, seven hours and thirty-six minutes Maya Kojiki has been experiencing this out-of-body state ever since she's been hooked up to the large machine that kept her alive. It was pitiful having to watch her self be managed and bathed by others. On top of that her brother would come in and speak to the unconscious body of the brunette. Don't get her wrong, Maya was glad he would come and say hello. It was a relief to have another other human presence around other than it being a doctor or a nurse. The main problem was that she could _not _communicate back to anyone. No matter how loud she screamed, no matter how much she pleaded for her elder brother - for anyone to hear, it just did _not_ happen. Which, eventually, left her to where she stood now.

It's been nearly four weeks, and she's already given up. She has over heard her doctor saying that her current state is stable, though is gradually descending. It was just a matter of time before she would take a major downfall. If it wasn't for the multiple machines, which had beeped at their own individual rate making their own simple tune, she would be already dead. Of course, that's how it was for most coma patients.

It was odd, really. She felt different, but not afraid. You would think being semi near death would knock the socks right off your feet, but that was invalid at this point. One, she wasn't wearing any socks, and two, Maya was fairly neutral about things now. Not that she necessarily wanted to die she just didn't feel the need to mourn over herself anymore, or at least that's how one would perceive if they could actually see her. Maybe it was some sort of an effect of all this. This _was_ her first time ever being in said situation, so was this how she was supposed to feel? Dull remorse and repentance? Guilty that she didn't get to accomplish nearly anything she had truly wanted in life, or fulfill the promises and ideals she had made with others? Maybe the word _guilty _isn't the right term. Then again, _sad _wouldn't exactly fit the picture either. Antonyms of those words definitely wouldn't fit in. So, if not guilty nor sad, then what was it? This deep, growing pit of emptiness that gave her a sense of yearn - yearning to be filled up with something again. To be filled up with soul and story.

Soul, and story. . .

It was safe to say that what happened to the teenage brunette had and would give her plenty of soul and story. Possibly much more than to her liking. She was given another chance at life, or a sample, really. Everything would eventually come down to a simple pick and choose situation. Maya Kojiki had been given the gift, or burden, of being dropped in another world temporarily. Her memories are lost. Her origin is unknown. Her language is different compared to the natives, and she is scared.

Waking up on the cold, dirt ground isn't exactly the most comforting and uplifting experience. One moment Maya had been in her hospital room sitting on the end of her bed criss-cross looking at her unconscious form, then the next she's greeted with a face full of flat dirt with no recollection of what had happened nor of who she was. She knew her name, though that was just about it. Gaining some composure, Maya slowly slid her arms in next to her body and pushed herself up in a push-up position. Her brown hues stared aimlessly into the foreign earth beneath her, half lidded and dry. Gradually, a few strands of her shoulder length hair had slipped from having been tucked behind her ear to hanging next to her face grazing her cheek softly. It was a good couple of minutes of pure humdrum remaining in the same position with the same dull expression. She was scared, but she hadn't realized that yet. Blocking the label fear, and replacing it with being in a state of dismay was what Maya would subconsciously do and tell herself. If you were scared, then that meant you had a sound weakness, otherwise, you wouldn't feel scared, or worried, of whatever was occurring. Maya may have lost her memories, but her natural intent of not wanting any weakness still remained intact.

Grimacing from a sudden pain pulsing from her right ankle, Maya shifted in a fidgety movement to where she was sitting on her bottom. Grabbing onto her right leg she carefully moved her foot so it would be resting on her left upper thigh. Examining it, it wasn't hard to see the red skin that screamed irritation. It was also swollen and you could tell the skin was tight around that area. Hesitating to touch it, she placed her fingers on the skin and frowned from the minor pain she had received from her cold finger tips having made contact with the swollen area. Giving it a few light presses only made the pain expand causing Maya to quickly pull away her hand and hiss almost silently.

_**' A s****prang ankle?'**_, she thought.

A gust of wind and the very much audible sound of rusting leaves had pulled Maya out of her own thoughts and brought her to take closer observation into her surroundings. Lifting her head, her brown hair blew to over her shoulders; the same direction of the breeze. Her eyes flicked from one pace to another seeing trees upon trees. She also noticed that it was nearing sunset, and she was in a forest. Not having any memories and waking up in a forest sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. Maya took in a long inhale through her nose and closed her eyes trying to balance out her fear with rationality. Fear tended to lead people into rash and ignorant decisions, so remaining calm was an important part of survival. For someone as young as her, and in her position, she was honestly a brave gal. Bravery was something that could very well benefit her in this world.

Standing up, Maya kept her right knee bent in to reduce the amount of weight on her injury; she was still unsure on how she got it in the first place. With a turn of the head, she looked to her left, then right still unsure on where to go. Her first thought was to climb a tree somehow and stay up there for the night. One, it was safer than sleeping on the ground where various predators could choose her as a snack, and two, the tree's were rather large, larger than she would ever think trees would be. They also came with nice, thick branches. That gave her some sense of ease that falling off in the middle of her sleep wouldn't be very likely. Settling to her plan she exhaled and began to limp over to the nearest, and biggest tree. It would be difficult to climb one due to her condition, but she could manage.

Suddenly, she came to a pause in her actions just as another gust a wind blew, and this time it carried the scent of, **"Food."** she muttered before her stomach seemed to speak in it's own language as well. She frowned placing her hand over her belly before looking in the direction of the smell. Her sense of smell seemed to be stronger than the average person considering she started to follow it even after the wind died down, but she still managed to hold the scent. The smell was of _cooked _food, so that meant there were people. People meant, help. Well, their supplies could be useful, she didn't know much about actually interacting with the strangers.

The teen had almost tripped a numerous amount of times, and she could feel her ankle growing worse. But, luckily, she found what her nose had picked up on. Placing her hand against the rough, brown bark of a tree Maya soon had placed her forearm against it for more support. A small whimper had escaped her throat, though it was barely audible to even herself. She had taken another inhale and exhale trying to retain her fear once more. As soon as she had gotten her mind back in the place she had wanted it to be she took a few more steps forward and peeked around the tree she was behind revealing what had seemed to be a camp site. There were four sleeping bags set out, each being accompanied by a backpack. There wasn't much, which told her that who ever these people were only planned on staying here for a night. The next thing she saw made her mouth water. Fish grilling over the hot flames of the campfire. There were two bass, gutted and scaled, now being stuck on a stick and cooking. The meat sizzled and turned into a crisp that could leave a hungry person drooling. Which, in this case, someone actually was. Maya. Blinking from the realization, she quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked around the area a bit more seeing that no one was in sight. She would just take one, and maybe a few other supplies she could scurry up. Nothing too important, though. These people needed to survive as well. She didn't plan on joining them, however. What if they were crazed beings? The last thing she wanted was to be in a perturbed situation.

Carefully, though unfortunately painfully, the brunette made her way closer to food being wary of her surroundings. She had to walk past the sleeping kits to get to the campfire. One seemed as if the owner didn't really care much for tidiness, or maybe they were in a rush. The bed roll was obviously just thrown down along with their pack; it was open and it's contents had spilled. The other three were fairly treated with some type of care.

Since Maya couldn't put much pressure on her foot without going through an intense amount of pain she had to settle on her knees. The warmth of the fire made a shiver run down her spine and evidently smile a bit. The orange flames flicked and danced emitting a warm light that reflected off Maya's brown hues and lightly tanned skin. She was suddenly indulged with a sense of excitement hearing the crackle of the fire and watching the crisp of the fish cook. It seemed well enough for her, and knowing she couldn't stay here long she couldn't exactly wait around for it to become perfectly cooked.

She began to reach over with her hand opening her palm and about to grasp the stick. **_'Just one, and I'll be out of here-'_**

" Hello, I don't believe we have met before." A sudden foreign voice and language broke the reassurance Maya thought she had.

Having paused in mid grasp Maya looked over her shoulder with big eyes. She saw a man with undoubtedly blonde hair and blue eyes. Despite his tender features, a soft smile being included, Maya still lost grip of her fear control and it had gone loose. Her heart rate picked up as she quickly went to stand only to clench her teeth from the immediate sting emitting from her right ankle. In term, she had lost her balance and began to fall back. Preparing herself to get the wind knocked out of her chest she closed her eyes tight and tensed her body. To her surprise, instead of meeting with the hard ground she was caught in a simple grasp of two arms. A light _thud_ was made when her back landed softly against the chest of another. This caused her to open her eyes and remain still for a moment. Her elbows were extended outward as the man's arms were looped under her shoulders. It didn't take her much of a thought to conclude that he had been the one to prevent her from the fall, though it still didn't make her feel any less uncomfortable. Not knowing what to say, nor do, she simply did nothing but let her head hang in shame. She should have known if the fire was still burning that someone was still near the camp.

The man continued to hold up the young girl in a gentle and nonthreatening grip as he started to speak up again. " Is it your ankle?" he asked in his natural considerate tone.

Honestly, he already knew her ankle was wounded, though he figured he'd ask anyway for her own self benefit. The ninja being the rank, and man, he is had easily spotted the girl before she had set foot anywhere near their camp and examined her with growing interest. He remained silent waiting for a response that was never received. The blonde pierced his lips before sighing. Straitening his legs and posture, the male had soon lifted the brunette off her feet keeping her in the grip he had placed on her. _' She's incredibility light...more than I would consider healthy.' _he thought to himself before soon placing her down near a tree having her rest her back against the trunk. " I have a team-member who can provide you aid," he spoke lifting a finger and pointing to the swollen ankle. Placing his hands on his hips he looked down upon the girl continuing to hold his smile, although there were multiple things he was worrying about already. " I would feel more content if you were to wait until she and the others return. It wont take too long, I promise." he paused. " May I ask for your name?" he asked gently as he once again awaited for a response. All he received was a muddled look. Another gentle sigh escaped his lips before he bent his knees and squatted down in front of the kid. Their eyes remained connected, and they both remained silent for a few passing seconds before the blonde lifted his hand towards her. " I'm Namikaze Minato," he introduced hoping the girl would at least respond to his hand gesture.

What was this man saying? Maya couldn't understand a word. Well, actually, she could understand a _few _words. She had recognized the language, Japanese, but she didn't know why. She's fluent in English, and she thought it was the only form in verbal communication she knew, but here she is understanding a few words of this man's language. She felt bad for not responding to him, but it was only because she didn't know how. It wasn't until he was level to her height and offering his hand towards her that she gained a clue on what he may be referring to. Maya recognized the last word of his sentence that she presumed was a question. That word being 'name'. Even so, she still didn't respond as she wasn't confident enough about it. Until he introduced himself. Only then could she tell that he was speaking about names.  
><strong><br>**" Nami..kaze Min - Minato?" She repeated finding the name slightly hard to pronounce like he had. She with out a doubt carried an accent in his ears. This man, Minato, responded with a nod.

" And yours?"

" Maya Kojiki," she replied taking it as her cue, although she felt like she and introduced herself wrong. Shaking her head and blushing slightly she opened her mouth and corrected, " Kojiki Maya." She had lifted her hand, but hesitated to grab his for a shake.

Minato smiled. " It's nice to meet you, Maya-san," He nodded once more before closing the gap between their hands and gripping onto her petite palm in a warm hold. He had taken notice to her accent, and the way she had presented her name during the first attempt. It was foreign, and her some of her features weren't exactly something you'd find in Konoha or anywhere in the fire country. For instance, she had big, round eyes instead of the common narrow shape you would find around here. Her color of hair was also unique; not blonde, but not quite a solid brown either. It was a very, very light brown - ochre. Those were just a few minor things added onto his list of curiosities about the girl.

Soon, he let her hand slip from his and noticed how her eyes kept flicking to the fire behind him, or rather the _food _behind him. He couldn't help but to chuckle. Without much of another word, he pressed his hands against his knees pushing himself back up before turning around and walking over to the fire where he grabbed one of the grilled fish. Maya had watched in unknowing anticipation and suspension; her eyes were also big and glossy. A sight that Minato couldn't help but to smile at again. The kid was cute, he'll admit. But, why was she out here, and all alone at that? She certainly wasn't a kunoichi, he could hardly feel any chakra emitting from her system, and she didn't have the build of a shinobi either. It's possible she could be using some type of seal, or masking Jutsu, but by grabbing onto her hand earlier it was clear that she wasn't hiding her chakra signals mainly because she didn't _have _much of any chakra to conceal. Minato was somewhere near an expert at seals, and the vast majority of the time he would know if one had been preformed if he took the effort to look. Usually, people with that little of chakra would be nearing death by now, but her? Other than her ankle and the inevitable look of hunger plastered on her face, she seemed perfectly fine.

Minato walked back to the silent girl and had handed the grilled bass over, also having taken the other one off the fire and placed it to the side preventing it from getting burnt. After seeing her eyes get filled with hesitancy Minato insisted for her to take it. It took a few seconds, but Maya had taken the food and gazed upon it as if it were gold.

" Hmph," he huffed softly deciding to let her eat before asking further questions. The thought of her not understanding him, language wise, had already been one conclusion in his mind, but he wouldn't know anything for sure until he tried to talk to her further.

The sound of a loud obnoxious voice brought Minato out of his thoughts temporarily. The blonde closed his eyes and exhaled quickly before opening them back up and turning around so he'd be facing his up coming students as he stood beside Maya.

" Kakashi-baka! If you would have just gone with my awesome plan, we could have a whole basket worth of fish!", the Uchiha exclaimed as he pointed an accusing finger at his male team-mate.

With a finger looped under a thin silver string, two fish hung by hooks that were pierced through their mouths. Kakashi simply rolled his eyes. " It would have been a waste of time, Obito," he replied in an annoyed and almost monotonous voice.

" You're a waste of time! What if we get hungry tomorrow and there's no time to stop?"

" We'll be back in the village by tomorrow afternoon, and the fish would be no good by tomorrow." he sighed. " Anyway, if we went went your dumb ass plan then we wouldn't have had enough time to do our perimeter checks."

" Hmph! I don't know about you, but I would have had plenty of time to do my rounds." Obito grinned smugly and crossed his arms as he held his one fish by the string. " I think you might be loosing your game, Kakashi." he snickered earning himself another eye roll and hopeless sigh from the Hatake.

Meanwhile, Rin had given up trying to get them to stop bickering. She was well grown to the two being the way the are and came to the simple conclusion that this was just how they were. If the worst were to come, she knew in the end they'd have each-others backs. " Minato-sensei!" Rin greeted as she held up her arm giving her sensei a wave and smile. Though, a brown haired girl had caught her attention rather quickly. She looked around their age, maybe a bit older, and sort of foreign. Not to mention she wasn't here before. " Sensei?" Rin questioned as she walked up to them. Obito and Kakashi had stopped bickering as well, now taking notice to the brunette sitting down munching on a fish. Maya herself hadn't noticed all the eyes on her as she was too busy fulfilling her stomach's wishes. Kakashi had a hard and stern expression while Obito held more of a curious and fawn look.

" Hey, she's sorta cute-"

" Who is she, sensei?" Kakashi asked, interrupting Obito.

Minato hummed at first and glanced over to the brunette before looking back to his much younger team members. " Her name is Maya. She's lost." He didn't know that for sure, of course, but saying something like that rather than stating her true intentions, trying to sneak into their camp to steal food, sounded less stressful in the blonde's mind. Otherwise, Kakashi would have gotten suspicious, probably more than he already was, and pry for more answers which would cause Obito to jump in and protest against Kakashi's tactics and in term would cause Rin to try and settle down the two. Minato really did know his team inside and out. As expected, Kakashi remained wary towards the girl, but trusted that his sensei knew what he was doing. The Hatake made brief eye contact with the girl before turning on his heal and walking towards the fire going to place the prepared, raw fish over the flame.

" Rin?" Minato asked catching the medic-nin's attention right away. " Do you mind taking a look at our guest's ankle. I believe she may have sprang it."

" Oh! Of course!" she perked before jogging over to her bed roll and grabbing her bag before pacing over to Maya in a hurried fashion. Sitting down on her knees in front of her, Rin first looked at Maya's ankle taking a few mental notes before looking up and meeting eyes with the girl. " Hi, I'm Rin. I'm going to treat your ankle, okay?" she smiled while Maya gulped down her food having taken the last bite.

Maya still had no clue of what the majority of these people's words were, but she tried her best to understand at least some and hopefully put together contexts clues. But, that was proven nearly impossible as she hardly knew any of the context at all, anyway! Judging by the tone of Rin's voice, Maya guessed this girl was asking her a question. Again, she didn't know how to answer so she just stayed quiet. Rin raised her brows lightly with a look of concern and slight confusion.

" You don't have to be shy, I don't bite." Rin chuckled hoping to lighten the mood and make Maya as comfortable as she could. Still, no answer.

Minato had been observing from aside forming his own thoughts about Maya once again. Maybe she really didn't understand them. It would make sense at this point, but he would feel more confident with his conclusion if he could prove it. She wasn't fidgeting, blushing, or making much indication that she was shy. Confusion seemed to be the main feature she was producing. Rin had went along with her routine despite not getting any verbal answer.

" Aren'tcha cold in those clothes of yours?" Rin tried to start up a conversation again. Maya had only been in shorts and a tank-top. Gently pulling Maya's leg strait Rin positioned Maya's ankle in a better angle before placing her hands over it. Within a matter of seconds a warm, pastel green aura enveloped around Rin's hands. This seemed to alarm Maya as she had quickly pulled her leg in with a gasp. Her eyes were wide and filled with total shock.

**" What the heck was that?!" **Maya exclaimed in her native tongue, unable to hold back her astonishment. The kid had indeed lost her memories, but instinctively she knew that _that _wasn't normal. People couldn't make a green light flow from their hands, could they? It didn't sound right the more she repeated it in her mind. Her eyes scanned her ankle rapidly seeing if anything was different, though nothing was. Probably because of how fast she had pulled away from the glow. Rapidly, she looked up seeing Rin with just as much as confusion as she. Rin's reasons for being confused were far different than Maya's.

Due to Maya's outburst in foreign tongue, she had grabbed the attention of Kakashi and Obito whom were temporarily nonplussed. Minato was also stunned, though not as much as the others considering he had expected something like this.

" Um," Rin hesitated as she shifted gazes from Maya to Minato. " Sensei?"

" Yeah," he murmured before placing his hand on Rin's shoulder. " Go ahead and continue, Rin. Once she sees that what you're doing will help, I'm sure she'll relax a bit." he reassured. _' Interesting...This would explain why she wouldn't speak up until now. But, that language..No one, not even the other great shinobi nations speak in that tongue.' _Rin was able to start back up again having to move Maya's leg once more. Luckily, Maya complied this time being more curious than afraid on what the green light could do. It stung at first, but then faded into a warm feeling; her ankle was feeling more than relief - it was being healed.

" What kind of gibberish what that?" Obito asked popping back into the picture.

" It wasn't gibberish, Obito," Minato corrected. " Though it definitely wasn't Japanese."

" Well, no duh, Sensei! Honestly, it sounded sorta cool." he snickered before walking forward and leaning over near the brunette's face. In return she shrunk back with a raised brow. " Can you teach me? That way I can talk crap about Kakashi-baka and he wouldn't even kno-"

Minato grabbed the back of the boy's collar and pulled him back. " That's enough, Obito," Releasing the boy he placed his hands on his hips and let out an exhale. " Looks like we're having one more member to the group,"

" Wait, we're taking her?" Kakashi's voice had spoken this time as he took his sensei's side, and he was rather aloof. Minato nodded.

" We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, and arrive at the village before noon."

" What if she's a spy? You said she was "lost", right? That sounds pretty questioning to me."

Minato only smiled softly and placed his hand on the boys head. " That's why you're going to make sure she doesn't go anywhere." Kakashi twitched. " Her ankle has a sprang anyway, she wont be moving on her own very far. Rin," he looked to the kunoichi. " Don't heal her ankle fully, just enough to where it wont be as painful. You can wrap it up, but nothing more. We don't know for sure if she has tricks up her sleeve." He was fairly positive Maya was harmless, but you could never be too sure about anything.

Rin nodded. "Hai..." Her voice trailed. She had caught onto something that worried her. " Sensei, her chakra. It's—"

" I know, that's why if she's really no threat," the blonde paused giving Kakashi a reassuring look for that part. " Then we'll take her into the village hospital. Are you almost done?" he asked.

" Yes, I'll just have to wrap it up now. After that, it'll be good enough, but not _too_ good." she smiled up to Minato having followed his orders earning herself a nod and smile back.

" Great! Let's hurry up and eat before it gets too dark."

It didn't take long at all for Maya's ankle to be wrapped up, and after that Rin had joined the rest of her group to eat. Maya was still in awe on how the short-haired girl could do such a thing! Maybe that was normal. After all, no one else seemed to have freaked out over it much like Maya had. With a small sigh, she tucked her arms in and hugged herself keeping warm. What was she doing here? Who was she? She was Maya Kojiki, but who _exactly _was Maya Kojiki? Her foot dragged across the dirt ground as her knee was brought close to her chest, her other leg staying out strait keeping her injury still. She wasn't too far from the group, they could easily see her and she could easily see them. She was close enough to where the flame of the fire could still produce her some warmth. It may have been abnormal the way she hadn't been freaking out like any other lost, amnesia suffering girl would be. These people were kind to her so far, and she couldn't help but to feel some type of security around them. Despite not understanding them, she didn't pick up on much negativity. Other than the silver haired one, that is. Just by the way he looked at her made her feel like she was in the wrong. Was it possible she was? If so, then what was she doing wrong? It was probably the fact that she's taken on the role as a burden upon their shoulders. They had helped her. So. . .was she just supposed to leave now? Her mind told her to get up and show some type of appreciation before leaving, but her body had start to feel tired. Her eye lids slowly began to shut as her mind was on the brink of falling into unconsciousness. The light from the flame started to blur as well as the foreign voices around her. The last thing she remembers is seeing an image approach her and a sudden feeling of being covered before falling asleep.

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><p><em>Typical ending, I know. :p I'm just excited and I wanted to post this already! Plus, this was only a preview, so nothing too spontaneous would happen. Feedback is always appreciative! No matter what kind. :] Hopefully, there's no spelling errors. I scanned over it briefly, but I feel like there's at least one I missed..euh, if there is then just tell me and I'll correct it! Thx~! <em>

_**- Metairie**__**B.**_


	2. Chapter 1

_A.N: I'm so glad there's people who actually took interest in this Fic! I'm aiming to update at least once a week. Maybe twice if I can get my school work done early. There's not much personal info I have to address to today other than it makes me incredibly excited to see this story have followers. Even if the number is low, it still means a lot as writing is usually something I do for myself - a hobby. My goal isn't to create a story for the number of views, or follows, but just for the fun of writing! And, I'm glad I can share it with you guys. :]  
><span>Anonymous &amp; Nitinha56:<br>Thank you for for the review! I'm glad you think this story has potential. :D I had made a few minor changes, and corrected my mistakes, and that was AFTER you reviewed. So, it makes me giggle, in a good way, that you still liked it before I had made my corrections. I hope I can keep in touch with you; a follower. C: _

**_IMPORTANT INFO: _**_After rereading the Preview, again, I made a few minor changes! The only one that would serve any importance would be Maya's age. I had her be fifteen at first, but I lowered it to eleven. _

_- M. B_

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><p><em><strong><span>.Chapter 1.<span>**_

Minato carried Maya upon his back. His arms being hooked around her thighs as her head rested over his shoulder. They've been traveling for a little over an hour now and they still had a good distance between them and the gates of Konoha. Honestly, he was relieved that they would be home soon. The mission they were on itself wasn't hard. A simple travel, repair, and getting rid of a few freebooters. It were the complications that made Minato want to give in to a good face palm and sigh; he had refrained himself from doing so as he usually would. A mission was expected to have complications, just as long as nobody had gotten seriously injured then all was good. Of course, injuries were also an inevitable circumstance in the line of work of shinobi.

Minato's blue hues watched his three students from behind being about a couple of feet behind them. Obito was ranting on about something that made Rin hold her closed palm over her mouth and chuckle while Kakashi had turned his head the other direction with an obvious sense of annoyance. This, right here, is what people misunderstood about ninja, specifically speaking of the younger shinobi. They were still kids no matter what type of occupation they may have. Granted, they're ninja so of course they're going to have to get their act strait during situations where they need to pull their brains together, but they still had a childhood. Some people assume the term 'ninja' is a single category; a whole other species in exaggerated terms. While others, mainly clients who have younger nin escorting or taking whatever the job may be, believe that _because _they are younger that they can't do their job well. Judgement was human nature, there's no way to really avoid it, but if you're able to deal and move past it then it builds character.

" Sensei, is that girl okay? I mean, she didn't even wake up when we were getting together all of our stuff earlier. _Waaay _earlier." Obito spun on his heel and began to walk backwards with his intertwined hands together being behind his head.

Minato's eyes focused on the Uchiha for a moment before he lifted his chin up a bit and glanced at Maya from his peripheral vision. " She's still breathing, so I would assume she's just tired." With a small heave he adjusted his grip on the girl. _' She's seems pretty out of it— it's likely it's from how low her chakra is.' _Minato wasn't the only one thinking this, Rin also knew how low her chakra was and was most likely concerned about it. It wouldn't be a surprise if Kakashi had already picked up on it, and if he had then the only reason he wasn't saying anything was because he probably thought of Maya of some type of nuisance. Obito—was well, Obito. Something like this wouldn't be something he'd think of in this point of time.

" Well, you did say she was lost," Rin spoke up. " and we don't know how long she's been alone. My guess would be that she hasn't been able to get proper sleep, much less food." She suggested leaving out the chakra part.

Obito hummed in thought before smiling a toothy grin. " Then as future Hokage I'll be sure she gets the best of care!" he declared. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

" Do that to every freeloader we pick up, and Konoha will be in for a downfall." he paused as Obito's smile quickly faded into a vexed frown. " That's even if you somehow manage to become the Hokage."

" Hey! I will become Hokage and there's nothing wrong with being a little nice, you know! Plus, it's not like she's taking advantage of anything! Being a ninja isn't all about "the rules". You have to have _some _type of heart. Tch," The Uchiha crossed his arms and turned back forwards. " though I'm pretty sure you have none of the sort, _scarecrow._"

" Obito-san..." Rin murmured grimacing lightly already knew where this conversation was headed.

Kakashi huffed. " If being heartless can get the job done, then call me whatever you want. It's your idiocy and lack of judgment that will not only screw you up, but everyone and everything else around you. If you ask me, you becoming Hokage would be an unfor-"

" Kakashi." Minato rebuked. The tenderness the male's voice was now being temporarily replaced with admonish. All three of his students automatically reacted to their superior's tone resulting in everyone to slow in their walking, including Minato. Everyone, especially those three, knew that Minato hardly ever got mad and when he did it almost never ended well. Minato still held his composure with stern features. It wasn't rare for him to have to scold his team, mainly Obito and Kakashi, and he might as well stop this before it escalates to it's higher potential. Rin usually acted as a bystander. " It disappoints me to hear those words come out of your mouths," he scolded the two boys bluntly. " You guys are a team, if you're pointing out flaws in each other than it's your inability to get along. Obito, it's true, you lack in wisdom and discernment. You hold compassion for others which isn't a bad thing unless you get blinded by it." he paused. " Fortunately, I believe Maya here is no threat, so I appreciate your kindness towards her. However, I have several facts to back up my opinion while you act on what you see. Kakashi, your arrogance prevents you from thinking about the smaller things that may serve just as much importance as the obvious ones. In fact, it may change your idea on the situation. Obito holds too much compassion while you hold little. Coming off as steely could also make others, or a client feel uncomfortable." Soon after taking in an inhale, Minato held a smile that been proven worse than any old irritated look making the two boys straiten their backs. " With that being said, I hope the rest of this trip wont hold any negative comments, understood? Otherwise, I do believe we skipped out on last weeks training so that gives me plenty of reason to work you even harder next time."

" H-Hai!" Obito blurted.

" Hai..." The Hatake murmured; both boys felt a sense of indignity. Rin simply stood besides her sensei with somewhere near a hopeless look as she let out a small exhale.

Shortly after the small scene, the Konoha nin were soaring through the trees, jumping from branch to branch. Minato was surprised that Maya had still remained sleeping even after all this time, including his split moment raised voice. What had further raised his concerns were her breathing patterns. They had gotten more heaved and heavy. He could tell by how her chest was rising and falling against his back in shaky rhythms. It would settle and calm, but then happen again. Rin was a good medic, but he knew Maya's condition was something a higher level medic should look at. Giving the girl a quick glance before looking back ahead, Minato pumped more chakra into his legs and feet. The second his left foot made contact with a new branch he bent down and gave a good push resulting in gaining more distance at a faster rate. The rest of team Minato caught on with his uplift in speed and had sped up as well.

Skipping in a few more hours, both Rin and Minato had looks of strain and somewhat a pout. The whole trip had been silent, and Minato was starting to regret his earlier words.

_' They needed to hear it, but— I didn't think they wouldn't talk all together. . .Then again, I should have expected this in the least.' _The blonde's smile could only be defined as somewhat melancholic. Glancing to his left at Obito before to his right where Kakashi was, he could just feel the tension. _' Boys will be boys, I guess.. more specifically my boys.' _Minato thought just before he heard that familiar foreign language again.

**" Am I flying..?"** The voice of Maya spoke in a light gruff from having just woken up. It was likely it had something to do with her chakra systems, but honestly the girl had always been the one to sleep in. Her brows furrowed together as she lifted her head slowly off of Minato's shoulder whom had given her a glance taking notice to her awakening. It took her a moment, looking around at her surroundings. The wind blew through her ochre hair, and they were seeming to pass up trees rather quickly, but it also didn't feel or look like they were on the ground. Once half lidded eyes were now big the moment she had looked down. Her brain had troubles comprehending what exactly was going on, but it certainly made way to tell her body to grip the nearest thing as tightly as she could. That nearest thing being a person, Minato. Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly as her legs did the same around his torso letting out a squeal. **" W-Why ar-are we so high up?! Please put me down!" **she begged frantically and rather comically, too.

Meanwhile, Minato had almost lost his footing due from the sudden death grip he was placed under releasing a choke from the back of his throat. For a girl who is seemingly as weak as she is she certainly had the strength to preform such a hold. Grimacing, he knew it would be pointless to try to calm her down through words, but her grip had yet to weaken. If you ask him, he would say it was pretty unnatural on how strong she was for someone in her condition. His pace slowed to a gradual stop landing on top of a large branch close to the trunk of the tree. With one hand being placed against the rough bark the blonde lifted his other and gently took hold of one of Maya's forearms beginning to pry it away with minor strength. To his relief, she had gotten the message and loosed her grip almost immediately with a small gasp following afterward.

" Everything okay, Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked as he landed next to his teacher along with the other two. He had heard the girl speak in that foreign tongue again, and he would be lying if he wasn't in the _least _curious about it.

Minato took in a deep breath he was in dire need for. " Yeah, you three can continue on. I'll catch up when things are situated here." he replied as he grabbed both of Maya's wrists and slowly began to pull her off.

" Are you sure?"

" Hm." He nodded just before Obito gave Kakashi a good, hard pat against the shoulder as he took off once again.

" Hehehe, come on slow-poke! Someone's gotta lead!" The energetic boy snickered and teased Kakashi with a childish expression. The Hatake grew a twitch mark on his temple before taking off to get in the lead.

" It's not like you're the only one who knows how to get home, idiot. Anyway, we'll end up lost if you take the lead of anything." Kakashi took a short glance back at his sensei and Maya. " Humph."

Rin sighed. " At least they're talking again. . sort of. Anyway, are you sure everything is alright?" Her eyes shifted onto Maya who was now standing on the branch with her own feet keeping it light on her right one as she stayed close to Minato.

" We're fine, just go along with the others. Make sure they don't get into any trouble, Rin-chan." He smiled, and with that she was off. Beginning to feel something tighten around his arm, and hearing what sounded like a grunt of discomfort, Minato looked down to his side seeing the brunette shoot worried glances over the branch. It wasn't hard to figure out that the height they were in was making her uncomfortable. While Maya was worried about the distance between them and the Earth he was more concerned about her health. He would need to resume the pace he was in soon to get to Konoha in a time that would make himself content, but he needed to calm her down first. Being choked the whole way there wouldn't do much good. With a simple reach his palm made contact with her forehead without much of a warning resulting in the female to blink in confusion.

_' She's burning up—and now that I look at it her cheeks are flushed as well. . . Rin was right, we have no idea how long she's been out here and how long she's been in the condition that she's in_—_Well, she's not dead, so I would say a few days in the least. Even so, she doesn't look all that dirty, much less scratched up.' _

Luckily, he was able to get her to calm down, and through simple gestures, a soft smile included, he gained her trust and was back on track within no time. The other three, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito weren't too far ahead so it didn't take much time for him to catch up, either. There was minor talk between the group due to all of them being ready to be home already; a little chit-chat here and there was all. All the while Maya had stayed silent letting her head rest upon the blonde's shoulder. She couldn't understand what they were saying so there was no point in trying to talk. Her head was hurting anyway, and she was honestly surprised that all this moving didn't make her queasy. In fact, it probably made her feel better. The wind blew back her hair and brushed against her skin cooling her down. The natural scent in the atmosphere smelt fresh and tranquil. Almost as if she's never inhaled such clean and easy-to-breathe air. Unfortunately, as much as the wind and air did make her feel better she still carried an antagonizing head ache. Maybe sleeping it through could help, and to her make this trip go by a lot faster. It wasn't exactly comfortable being carried on someones back for a trip that was looking as long as this, either. It was rather embarrassing for her to have to be like this. She wasn't a child. She was young, yes, but having to be carried was something she wouldn't have mind if she was six, not eleven. It wasn't like there was any other alternative though. Not only did she have a wounded ankle, but she couldn't nearly match up with the speed these people were going in! Little did she know that this wasn't even half the speed of their full potential, especially Minato.

.. . .

Maya's headache was soon finalized as a high fever when Minato had checked her into the hospital after arriving in Konoha only moments ago. He himself couldn't stay there long considering a mission wouldn't fully be completed until he reported back in to the Hokage. Maya was hesitant for him to leave her in the room with the nurse, that being proved when she had grabbed onto his sleeve preventing him from taking another step towards the door. The brunette was already growing an attachment - a bond - with the man even if she hadn't realized that yet. Because of that lack of verbal communication Minato, or really anyone else, could carry with Maya he had to resort to body language. Using a soft tone could even be proven to help despite her not understanding what his words meant. It only took a few brief moments of smiling and an easy pat on her head to get Maya to somewhat settle to an ease. The brunette seemed to understand Minato's attempts to reassure her that she would be alright. She nodded her head and released his sleeve allowing him to leave. As soon as he left the room Maya frowned, but that quickly went away after seeing Rin walk in giving her a reassuring look.

Next up, reporting to the Sandaime. Hiruzen was generally an opened minded and understanding person, so Minato wasn't very doubtful that he would continue providing aid for the lost girl. Although, Maya's condition may spark an interest to the Sarutobi. Not only was her body holding up unusually well under the low conditions of chakra, but her foreign tongue was something Minato never heard of much less ever hear anyone else speaking it. Actually giving the report of details for their mission didn't take too long, the same as usual. Obito always had something extra to say which most of the time lead Kakashi to retort and correct. Kakashi and Obito were also there having arrived a bit earlier than Minato. Then came the little extra piece that ended up tagging along. The sensei allowed for the other two leave if they wished. They had done their part, and Minato knew that the boys were tired despite not wanting to come off like so. The two weren't hesitant at all to leave after giving a small nod and dismissing themselves from both superiors.

" I don't mean to be hasty, but I do have work to attend to. So, spit out what you have to say, Minato." said Hiruzen as he was currently filling out the remaining paperwork for the now completed mission attended by team Minato.

The blonde let out a small breath. " On the way back we found a girl."

" A girl?" he repeated, the situation not yet grabbing his attention all to much as his eyes remained on the several pieces of paper on his desk.

" Yes, she's maybe around ten or eleven, and as far as I know she's just lost. Well, not that I could really communicate with her properly."

" What information do you know about her so far? I hope enough to prove she's not a spy or threat to the village considering she's already here."

Minato let out a slightly awkward chuckle as his features softened into what seemed to be an apologetic smile after hearing the Hokage call out his motives. " Am I that predictable?"

" Only if you look hard enough, or in this case know you as much as I do." Hiruzen replied this time with his own hint of amusement.

" Right," he sighed softly. " Anyway, yes, I couldn't leave her out there to fend for herself. Her name is Kojiki Maya and she's currently in the hospital accompanied by Rin. She has a pretty serious fever, but she must have a large pain tolerance because she hardly showed that it was bothering her. Even so, she should be suffering from a lot more than that."

" And why do you say that?"

" Her chakra systems are lower than a civilian's. I mean to the point of almost being completely gone," Only now had the Hokage's eyes flicked up from his papers to the shinobi. " Yet, other than her fever and the sprang in her right ankle, nothing else seems to be wrong, but that gives me all the more reason to believe something is."

Hiruzen hummed in thought placing down his pen in the process of giving Minato more of his attention. " That does seem odd," he paused. " A seal, maybe?"

" That's what I thought, but I didn't detect one. I didn't psychically check her for any marks, so that could still be done just in case, but by grabbing her hand and briefly scanning her systems I couldn't pin-point anything other than her low chakra vitals." Crossing his arms and leaning his weight more on one leg than the other Minato let out a soft exhale. " I'm sure the hospital staff will pick up on something while she's there, so hopefully there will be more to lean on soon."

" This Kojiki girl sounds like she has a very durable body," Minato nodded in agreement. " But, even if her condition is by far better than what we would expect, I wouldn't doubt if she were to suddenly drop in health on day," he said. " Where did you find her?"

" Just last night while we were camping out near the Niigata river. So, you could imagine she was pretty close to the village. We didn't find anyone else nor did she make any indication she was waiting for someone."

" Hm. I wonder where she could've came from if she was already close to the village. It would pretty far for a young girl like this to travel by herself from one place to another with there being a large gap between Konoha and the nearest civil area." Certainly she couldn't have made it on her own this far. Minato would've mentioned something by now if she had any indication of being a ninja, but it was hard to believe that she was even alive if she wasn't skilled in any survival methods.

" There's another thing."

" Hm?"

" She's not native to our tongue."

Hiruzen blinked a few times. Not native? The five shinobi nations all generally spoke the same language, and it would be incredibly rare to find someone speaking otherwise. The Hokage's chuckle took Minato in slight surprise. " This lost girl sure knows how to raise questions. I'll have to be sure and give her a visit as soon as I can. By any chance are you familiar with her language at all with it?"

Minato shook his head. " No, unfortunately not. She's typically quiet, which I'm sure you could imagine why, and she's only spoken a few times. Believe me when I tell you that it's nothing like what you and I are used to," he chuckled almost humorlessly. Maya had only spoken a few times and they all had been in an exclaimed manner. " It sounded sort of harsh.." he muttered the side note to himself. Again, Maya had only verbally spoken when in shock so it was likely that whatever she had to say would sound differently if she were more calm. _' Maybe I could get her to teach me a few "kindly" words to blurt whenever I catch that mulicolor-eye'd ass that works down at the market flirting with Kushina again. That way she won't punch me for being rude to him since she nor he will understand what I'm saying.' _he thought mischievously to himself. He loved Kushina, that was obvious, but she could really be clueless at times. She takes the "compliments" just as so‒compliments when they're really more than just polite comments. Minato internally sighed from his thoughts. _' No, that wouldn't be right. . . But it couldn't hurt to learn a few words, maybe a couple phrases.'_

" What are you going to do with her?" Hiruzen's deep and raspy voice pulled the Namikaze out of his thoughts causing Minato to focus his eyes back on him rather than the wooden floorboards.

" Pardon?" Minato repeated not quite sure on what he was asking.

The Hokage let out an amused chuckle as he leaned back into his seat. " I'll allow her to stay in the village and receive the care she needs from the Konoha's hospital, but she'll need a place to stay and a tutor afterwards."

" A...tutor?"

" Of course, if she's really just some lost child then she'll need guidance and learn the language of the others around her." An extra silent note was passed through that phrase: _It would also be required for her to be watched over until we can confirm she's no threat, and we can't have her in an orphanage just in case that's what's really going on. _

Minato understood both what was said and what was subliminally passed. " Right, and who are you thinking of giving her to?"

" Well, I was considering you and Kushina-san for one." Minato's eyes grew slightly even though he should have expected that in the least. " I can talk to one of the academy employee's and find a suitable teacher that can focus on her speech, but I don't feel comfortable having her live on her own. That would be a dumb idea." he muttered. " So, maybe you and Kushina could provide her a home just until she's advanced enough to make it on her own. I'll pay for the expenses when that time comes, but for now it would be best if she could stay with someone who can watch her. You found her, so technically, she's your responsibility."

Minato felt a bead of sweat roll down his temple. _' That doesn't sound right...' _The blonde let out a heavy exhale closing his eyes as he thought for a split second. " Right..I'll have to talk to Kushina first, but I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

" Please do. Now, if I do recall that wife of yours expected you back home thirty minutes ago." Minato tensed from the recollection. Kushina herself was a shinobi as well, but even so she still expected Minato to be back home on time as if no complications had interfered with the trip back. Nothing else was said other than a lift of the hand and a light wave in dismissal before the blonde was off in a yellow flash. Hiruzen let out an exhale before the lightest of smile's etched onto his lips. " They could use the practice with having a child around."

.. . .

Minato had appeared in front of his door step within a matter of seconds, and despite having the fear of the likely infuriated red-head being right behind it he still couldn't prevent his smile of just being home. With a small inhale and exhale he extended his hand towards the door knob about to grab it until it had swung open before his hand had gotten a chance to grip onto the metal knob. " Huh-Woah!" he was forced to take a few steps back from a body of weight suddenly throwing itself, or herself, at him and clinging on close.

" Minato! What took you so long?! I thought something had gone wrong, ttabane!" the red-headed jinchuuriki shouted as she had lifted her weight against him kicking her legs about.

Minato had to pull his head back a bit as his hands were placed on her waist trying to keep them both from falling. In the end he was able to keep on his feet and let out a slight chuckle. _' At least she isn't as mad as I thought.' _" Ah, s-sorry about that. I had ran into a minor set back on the way home. I actually need to talk to you about that, too." By then he had gotten the female back on her own feet though his hands remained on her waist.

Kushina looked up to her husband with interest and general concern. " Set back?. . Like what? Is everything okay?"

" Yes, yes," he reassured not wanting her to get to creative with her thoughts on the many tragic ideals her mind had the potential of coming up with. " but let's talk about it inside." She nodded, but still had a concerned feature. Just as she was about to pull away he tightened his grip preventing her from doing so.

" Hm?"

" I'm happy to see you again, Kushina." The male smiled and tilted his head to the right as he looked down at her. Before she could speak up and return his comment with her own he had leaned down and pressed his lips against hers in for a sweet, simple kiss that lasted slightly longer than a simple kiss should have.

Kushina was left blushing, and just as she was about to give in and fall into the one of many luscious kisses Minato could provide very well, he had pulled away and quickly given her a peck on the forehead. She pouted and looked up to him with a puckered bottom lip. He responded by letting out a laugh then slipping around her and taking her by the hand pulling her into their household. He slipped his shoes off at the door step giving Kushina enough time to close it behind them.

" So," she had started up again as he began to lead them further into their house. " I'm guessing everything went okay, yeah? Despite your set back, or whatever."

" Ah, it went just as well as any other mission with the kids would go."

" Ohh, so the boys were plucking each others feathers again, eh?"

" Yeah.." he sighed soon letting her hand slip from his. He stretched his arms before letting them drop then giving his shoulders a roll. " They're just kids, they'll grow out of the phase sooner or later." He started to unzip his jounin vest revealing the navy blue shirt that laid under the olive green vest.

" Humph, I hope when we have kids they wont be constantly at each other's throats. Otherwise, I will seriously loose it! I already have enough trouble as it is dealing with Kakashi and Obito when they start to bicker, ttabane!" She crossed her arms in a huff.

Minato slipped off his vest and tossed it over the couch while replying, " I'm sure you'd be a good mother and find a way to deal with them without blowing your head off," he reassured.

" Ha, I'll believe it when I see it."

" Good thing I can have that arranged then." he smiled turning back to look at his wife whom had paused from walking to the kitchen. Minato caught onto her confusion which he had expected. " The minor set back I was talking about earlier was a girl."

". . . A girl? What's that supposed to mean, Minato..?" The females long, red locks slowly began to raise as her brain went to one of the most devastating, not to mention out of proportion, scenario.

Quickly putting his hands up in defense vindicating that he hadn't done anything close to what she had jumped to Minato stumbled over his words at first. " I-It's no-nothing like that! Come on, you know that's a ridiculous conclusion." The red-head had settled gradually but turned her head the other way. Minato sighed and placed his hands back down to his sides. " Anyway, we found her and I'm pretty sure she was lost. So, I brought her back to the village." His lifted his finger in a quick swift motion preventing her from speaking up again and accusing him further. " She's no older than eleven." That seemed to cool her steam rather quickly, her arms dropping to her sides as she turned her head back in his direction giving him her calm attention.

" Is she okay? Was she by herself?" Kushina couldn't help but to fall concerned in the least for the girl. It was a natural instinct she didn't take enough notice about to deduce that she would actually be a great mom. Kushina was compassionate, and a loving person when it all came down to it. Especially when it came to children. She just knew Kakashi and Obito enough to be able to complain about them even though she really loved the two brats.

" Hm-mh. I checked her into the hospital and she just has a fever and a sprang ankle for now, though her chakra vitals are low enough for her to be in the ICU." Kushina carried the same expression as the Hokage when he had told him. " But her body is holding up _extremely _well, so there's nothing to worry about just yet. I'm pretty sure she also doesn't understand what we're saying, and she does speak a different language. If and when she's ready to be checked out of the hospital, the Hokage asked me if we would be able to give her a home while she studies our language at the academy. Just until she can get a good grasp-"

" Yes!" Minato was stunned from the quick answer. " I mean," Kushina cleared her voice. " of course. I wouldn't mind opening our home to her. I can't just deny the offer now that it's been placed. "

" Are you sure? I could always talk to the Hokage and-"

" No, no! That's fine. I wouldn't mind having another girl around the house to hang out with while you're out on missions. But, who will watch her when I'm assigned to one?"

Minato didn't reply at first, having to recover from his small smile and amusement towards his wife and her excited attributes. " Well, if we're really going to take her in then we'll have to figure all that stuff out later." He walked up to the red-head and placed his hand on her shoulder. " You understand she _is _already eleven and not a baby whom will understand nothing that we have to say." Kushina huffed and shooed his hand away.

" Good, I don't have to change any diapers," she retorted even if she would be a bit more excited if they were taking in a younger child. Nonetheless, this could still be good practice for the future. " and the we can work through the whole language thing. How hard can it be?"

He lifted his head and opened his mouth in a silent _ah_, and chuckled grabbing her face with both hands and tilting her head up to look at him. His blue hues peered into hers. " Okay then. I'll inform the Hokage later about the decision."

She smiled and nodded placing her hand over his before lifting her other one and thumping it hard against the back of Minato's head. " You need to phrase your words differently! Do you have any idea how, " the minor set back being a girl" can sound?!" she scolded bringing that up again.

He sulked lightly as his head drooped feeling the back of his head sting from the thump. He had wanted to say something like, " It's not my fault you take things the wrong way," but he knew better than to put himself on a death sentence and had instead said, " Hai, hai, gomen.."

" Good, now hurry and clean up while I make lunch." she ordered before pulling his hands away from her face with very little effort and walking towards the kitchen once again. " Oh! And, do you know this girl's name?"

Minato started to drag his feet towards the bathroom rubbing the back of his head trying to ease the pain. Hissing lightly from the sting, he replied, " Kojiki Maya."

She heard the name and soon the bathroom door open and close. Kushina smiled to herself as she started to wash her hands. " I look forward to meeting you, Maya-chan."


End file.
